cão

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cao"

Portuguese

cão (etymology 1)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɐ̃w̃/
• Hyphenation: cão
• Rhymes: -ɐ̃w̃

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese can, from Latin canis, canem, from Proto-Italic *kō (accusative *kwanem), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (accusative *ḱwónm̥). Compare Galician can, Spanish can, Catalan ca, French chien, Italian cane, Romanian câine and Aromanian cãne.

Noun

cão m (plural cães, feminine cadela, feminine plural cadelas)

1. dog

   Synonyms: cachorro (Brazil), perro (rare)

Usage notes

In Brazil, cão is somewhat formal, and cachorro is the most common term in neutral or informal contexts.

Related terms

• canário
• canicho
• canino

• canzarrão
• cinofobia

Etymology 2

cão (etymology 2)

From Old Portuguese cão, from Latin cānus (“gray”), from Proto-Italic *kaznos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱas-.

Adjective

cão (feminine singular cã, masculine plural cãos, feminine plural cãs, comparable)

2. white-haired

   Synonym: grisalho

Further reading

• cão on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^pt